It is particularly difficult to roast a whole chicken. The white meat from the breast cooks faster than the darker meat from the legs, the skin has to be crispy without burning and seasoning has to be strong enough to reach the interior of the bird without overpowering the delicate flavour of the flesh. Chickens that we find in most grocery stores are already tasteless... if cooking them is complicated, things are doing looking very well! I already discussed the lack of flavour of industrial chicken here and Kate (the Accidental Hedonist) and her readers shared their knowledge on the subject over there... I will therefore stick to cooking today.

An easy and well known method to roast chicken which never fails consist in using only the thighs, rubbing a bit of oil to help crisp the skin to a beautiful golden brown color, adding salt and spices and roast in a very hot oven. One of my favorite simple recipe consist in seasoning chicken thighs with salt, rosemary and olive oil, nothing else, not even pepper. I am almost ashamed to discuss this overly simple recipe here but it is through such simplicity that this recipe develops all its charms.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Sometimes, a recipe calls for peeled eggplants which leaves you with a pile of eggplant peels. One easy way to put what would otherwise go to waste is to make eggplant crisps. They can be eaten as is or used as garnish. I generally tend to prefer this last option for the stunning crispy darkness these crisps can provide to almost any dish.

The process is very simple.

1) Cut the peels in fine strips (I tried slices and it does not look as good)2) Add a little bit of oil (I like olive oil)3) Bake in the oven until crispy but not burnt (time varies according to the thickness of the peels)

This can be done at different oven temperatures which allows you to make them as something else is cooking. It generally takes only a few minutes but you should always keep an eye on them as thin vegetables tend to burn quite fast.

If you like eggplant caviar or baba gannouj, preserve the skin to make these crisps. They are great with fish.